Tales of Symphonia One Shot Anthology
by CatMuto
Summary: Each character has his or her individual One Shot. Each One Shot is an individual story, not connected to the others. After each character has one, they MIGHT be more One Shots to them.
1. Shihna: Scared of the past Shadows

**Cat-Alin: **Yes, I'm reopening my list of One Shots of each character!  
Since the One Shots I already have in German are so full of mistakes and I think that they're not the best, I'm going to write new versions.  
Be happy, the english ones are NOT going to be translated into german, so you're going to be the only people knowing the newer versions.  
And my muse is the respective character of the One Shot and we start with ..  
_-A stage with every possible ToS Character appears, the spotlight is swinging like mad-  
-The Spotlight suddenly stops-  
_**Cat-Alin: **And it's .. Shihna Fujibayashi!**  
Zelos: **-wolf-whistles-**  
Shihna: **-punch- -sits down in a stool next to Cat- Hello. What is the point of my One Shot? .. Not Volt, is it!?**  
Cat-Alin: **Please say the disclaimer.**  
Shihna: **.. Cat-Alin doesn't own any character of ToS, nor ToS itself and neither Namco. If she did, she'd have made Kratos bathe in the Onsen.**  
Cat-Alin: **For Sure!  
(_Seiren: japanese. Elemental Spirit; Safureki: japanese. Pyre Seal; Ahomiko: japanese. Idiot-Chosen_)

A young woman, her black hair falling loosely around her, was lying in bed, tossing around.  
A little animal, lying next to her, lifted it's furred head and looked at her. The woman had clenched her fist into the blanket and seemed to be in pain.  
The little animal jumped up and started to tap the woman with it's paw on the cheek.  
"Shihna .." it said.  
The woman tossed around.  
"I .. don't want to .." the woman muttered.

_The big temple, from a far, looking like a lightning rod ..  
An old man was helping a little girl out of a boat and spoke to the peculiar dressed people behind him. They nodded and the old man smiled at the little girl, who was looking frightened to the top of the temple ..  
The inside is dark and the people, surrounding the old man and the girl like guards, were holding candles to show the way ..  
The girl looked scared at the big altar in front .. and the lightning struck .._

"No!!" the woman yelled, bolting up in bed, stretching her arm out, as if she was trying to hold somebody.  
She panted and when she realized, that she was in no danger, she sighed and fell back.  
"Shihna .." the animal said again. "Again that dream?"  
Shihna, the woman, smiled and pat the animal's head.  
"Yeah .. sorry, if I woke you, Corrine .." she said, looking exhausted herself.  
"Shihna, you know that you can always trust that I will protect you, if anything ever happens to you!" Corrine assured the woman.  
"Yeah, thanks, Corrine." she said and patted the side of her pillow. "Lie back down and sleep."  
Corrine looked worried for a second, then the little animal stepped back onto the pillow and curled itself up.  
When Shihna was sure that Corrine was sleeping, the little furball rising and lowering with the steady breathing, she got up and left her room as quietly as possible.

She carefully pushed the curtain to the side.  
She didn't want to wake anybody, although the old man wouldn't have woken up, even if she would've been loud.  
Shihna knelt down to him and smiled sadly.  
"I'm really sorry, Grandfather .. It's my fault you're like this .." she muttered.

Next morning came quickly.  
"Shihna. Tiga wants a word with you." Orochi, a blue-dressed Ninja told her.  
"Alright, I'll be there in a minute." Shihna said and tied her hair back with the pink ribbon. "Come on, Corrine!"  
The little furball stretched and jumped down the bed, following the woman to the main room of the house.  
"Tiga, you asked for me?" she said and bowed a bit, then sitting down in front of him.  
Tiga nodded.  
"I have thought over my decision of your arrival and failure from yesterday." he said.  
Shihna nodded.

_"Shihna?" Tiga asks surprised. "You have come back. So, I presume that you have successfully assassinated the Chosen of Sylvarant?"  
Shihna is quiet and sits down in front of the man.  
"It is not like that." she says and takes a deep breath. "I have not killed the Chosen. For she has searched for a way to save both, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, on her journey of regeneration."  
Tiga nods. He looks displeased, but listens to the woman.  
"Although, her journey may have managed to get to the Tower of Salvation .. she has fulfilled the Angeltransformation, but she has no longer a soul."  
Tiga nods again.  
"Her group has come with me to Tethe'alla. They are right now in Meltokyo, the emperial city, to ask the king for help in retrieving Collet's .. I mean, the Chosen's soul. She will get her soul back and not fully regenerate Sylvarant."  
"Thus, Tethe'alla is still safe." Tiga agrees, nodding his head. Then he looks earnest at Shihna. "You do know that you have abandoned your true duty and have sided with the other group?"  
Shihna nods.  
"Yes."  
".. I can tell, that you're exhausted of the journey. Stay here for today and I will tell you, what you should do the next morning." Tiga says.  
Shihna nods and gets up, leaving after another bow._

"I want you to accompany the group and help them to retrieve the Chosen's soul."  
Shihna looked up, startled.  
"Tiga, are you sure?"  
Tiga nodded.  
"Yes. Once the Chosen's soul is back in her body, I want you to help them in any way for their further plans."  
Shihna nodded sadly.  
"You mean, you are exiling me from Mizuho?" she asked.  
"No, dear goddess, no." Tiga laughed amused. "No, I want you to bring the group here, once there is an opportunity to do so."  
Shihna cocked her head to the side.  
"What is your plan, Tiga?" she asked.  
"I will not tell you. Bring the group here when you have the chance and I will tell you." Tiga smiled.  
Shihna nodded and got up.  
The little furball of an animal followed her. Shihna stepped to the exit of the village, hearing just a few faint mutters around her. She sighed.

The woman appeared in a smoke-bomb, seeing her familiar people - one who she didn't paticularily like - and some strangers. They were in the middle of a laboratory.  
"He's not from Tethe'alla." Shihna said, her gaze on the teenage boy, just barely younger than she was. He was dressed in red and his brown hair was standing upwards. "Therefore, he has no kind of discrimination towards half-elves."  
A researcher with high, pointy ears frowned, not resisting when Corrine had bitten through the ropes that were tying the group's wrists together.  
"Very well .." the researcher sighed. "If you come back once you save your friends, I will tell you how to save Presea."  
The group nodded and took a secret passage out of the institute, running towards the bridge.  
"Hey, Shihna." the teenage boy said, looking at the woman sideways while running. "Why did you come back? Weren't you supposed to tell your chief about your failure?"  
"He told me to keep an eye on you." Shihna answered and noticed the boy's frown. "B-but you know, I'm completely on your side, Lloyd!"  
Lloyd grinned.  
"Well, I'm glad you're back!"  
Shihna cleared her throat.  
They stopped when they bridge was being put up.  
"They're cutting us off .." Lloyd muttered. "We'll jump!"  
The five people started to run faster and up the raising slant and tried to jump onto the other side.  
They didn't make it and started to fall into the deadly water.

Shihna panicked and tried to focus her thoughts for a second.  
"Undine! Help us!" she screamed and the seiren appeared.  
A mana infused wave of water shot up and carried the group safely to the other side of the bridge.  
"We're alive .." Lloyd sighed relieved. "Thank you so much, Shihna!"  
"I .. I'm sure glad I managed to summon her .." Shihna mumbled.

_The lightning struck .. and the seiren of thunder appeared._

"Guys!" a preteen boy with pointy ears ran towards them, a woman resembling him was there, too.  
"You saved us .. thank you." the woman said.  
"Ah, no problem!" Lloyd grinned. "Sensei and Genius are part of our group. No way would we let you leave!"  
Genius looked unsure.  
"But .. we're half-elves .."  
"So?" Lloyd grinned and the boy Genius smiled widely. "Now, all we have to do is to get the rheairds and Shihna making a pact with Volt."  
"Volt!?" Shihna exclaimed scared.  
"Shihna-san?" Presea, a young girl with blank eyes, asked.

_The seiren stared at the group of weirdly clothes people, the old man and the young, young girl at the front of his altar.  
"Don't worry, Shihna." the old man said and smiled.  
The young Shihna gulped and stepped closer to the altar.  
"I am Shihna." she said, her voice trembling with nervousness and fear. "I seek a pact with Volt."  
The seiren twitched and sparked, his big red eyes resting entirely on the girl.  
Shihna looked frightened and spoke again.  
"I seek a pact with Volt!"  
The red eyes flew wide open and a shower of arrows made out of lightning shot over the altar and out of the temple, towards a certain village .._

"I.. It's nothing .." Shihna mumbled to herself, trying to get herself away from her nightmare.  
"Say, Lloyd, where are the rheairds, anyway?" a man with long red hair asked. It was Zelos, the Chosen of Tethe'alla.  
"Up on the Fooji Mountains." Lloyd answered.  
"Well, let's go there first, since .."  
Shihna didn't hear the rest, retiring unintended back into her thoughts.

_The lightning arrows seemed like deadly shooting stars, falling towards the tiny village of Mizuho. Everyone was outside, ready to welcome the pact-group back and all ready for the festival for them. The stars fell and first one, then another person got hit by them, several high voltage blasting through their body.  
Back in the temple, the same stars of death were falling everywhere, hitting one of the men in the back. The young Shihna rooted to her place in fear, twitching when an arrow just barely missed her, at last cowering into a tiny ball, her arms over her head.  
"Shihna!!" the old man cried when a lightning arrow went directly towards the girl. The man threw himself over her, protecting her and getting hit by the lightning itself.  
"Aaaargh!!"_

_"Grandpa!" Shihna cried when she realized what happened.  
The old man lay limb on the floor, the seiren had disappeared and complete silence was left in the temple.  
"Grandpa ..! Grandpa!" Shihna grabbed the old man's shoulders and shook him a bit, tears streaming into her eyes. "Grandpa! Wake up, please!"  
The old man gave no reaction and Shihna wailed out loud, lying over the man's body, seeing no more possibility._

"Dammit, wait!" Lloyd yelled.  
Shihna snapped out of her memory and just saw a pair of lightblue wings in the sky.  
Lloyd grumbled and turned back to the group, putting his swords back, which had probably been thrown out of his hands.  
"Alright, let's follow his advice and go to Mizuho." Lloyd sighed.  
Everybody nodded, Shihna a little more hesitant.

_A tiny moan came and Shihna flinched, looking up, afraid that the seiren was back.  
One of the men in the back got up and looked around, the dead bodies of people around him.  
"Chief Igaguri!" he called and stumbled towards the girl and the old man. "Shihna, what ..?"  
Shihna shook her head and more tears fell from her eyes.  
The man felt the throat of the old man.  
"Don't worry, Shihna." the man calmed the girl down. "He's alive. But unconscious."  
"Un .. unconscious?" Shihna hicked.  
The man nodded.  
"Yes, probably in a coma. But he'll be fine." the man took the old man up into his arms. "We'll go back to Mizuho. Think you can walk?"  
Shihna stood up a bit wobbly and nodded.  
She went together with the two remaining men over the sea, back to Mizuho._

"Perfect timing, Lloyd and you others." Tiga greeted them happily. "We've located the rheairds."  
"How did Kratos know ..?" Lloyd mumbled quietly to himself.  
"But there is one problem." Tiga warned them and Shihna flinched, her heart beating fast, knowing what was going to come.  
"What problem, Tiga-san?" Lloyd asked.  
"If there is no 'fuel' for the rheairds, they will crash once more." Tiga said and his eyes turned to Shihna. "So, you have no other choice but to form a pact with Volt f-"  
"I .. I can't!!" Shihna yelled and ran away, muttering to herself. "Don't make me go through such a nightmare again!"

_The people of Mizuho watched in awe, stopping dead in their tracks of removing their dead comrades, as the girl and the man carrying the chief came back.  
The little group went into the main house and layed the chief onto his bed, covering him up. It looked as if he was just sleeping.  
Tiga, the vice-chief came in and saw the little scene and understood.  
"Shihna. Come with me." he said gently and led the girl outside of the house, everybody still standing where they stopped.  
"I am sad to tell you" Tiga said loud and clearly to them. "That our chief Igaguri is lying in a coma, unsure of when he will wake up. As vice-chief, I'll substitute him, until he's awake once more. We're here to also inform you, that - as you might have guessed through the lightning here - that the pact with Volt was not successfull. Shihna tried her best, but Volt went out of control. Of course, we are all sorry for the losses we have gained through the failed pact .."  
After the speech, nobody said another word and they went quietly their way, carrying the dead away. Shihna trembled. Tiga led her back inside, making her sit down on a soft cushion and put his hands on her shoulders.  
"Do not worry, Shihna." he said and smiled. "It's not your fault."  
"But .." Shihna hicked. "But it is .."  
"It's not." Tiga reassured her, but Shihna didn't believe him. Everybody was mumbling about her now, for sure._

"Shihna-chan?" Zelos wondered and looked at the woman, who had run into him by accident, lost in her thoughts. "Aw, Shihna-chan, I love you too!"  
The Chosen put his arms around the woman, who tensed up.  
".. Ahomiko!" she said and slapped him with her cards away, running to a place where was alone.  
"Shihna .." Corrine popped onto her shoulder and looked at the woman. "Don't worry. If you ever have trouble, I'll be there to save you .. remember?"  
Shihna smiled a bit.  
"Thanks, Corrine .. but I just can't."  
She flinched when she heard steps approaching and turned to see Lloyd coming over.  
Shihna looked away, Lloyd's smile was sort of embaressed, but understanding.  
"You heard it, right ..?" she asked. "You heard of how I let the people of this village die."  
"You didn't let them die." Lloyd replied.  
"Of course I did! Why do people keep on lying to me!?" she yelled at him. Lloyd looked taken back. More because of the tears coming from her eyes, than from her yelling. "I AM responsible for the deaths! I am! If I had managed to make that pact with Volt, the village people wouldn't have died and I wouldn't be looked down on!"  
Lloyd smirked slightly and stepped closer, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
"It's not your fault." Lloyd said again. Shihna looked at the ground. "Sensei explained that the then-attempt for the pact failed, because Volt is speaking an entirely different language. A language that humans don't understand. Sensei learned it a bit, so she'll be able to tell us what Volt is saying." The teenager's grin widened. "This time, we'll know what he's saying. And nobody is going to die because of that."  
Shihna clenched her teeth, trying to hide her trembling.  
"But .. what if he still attacks us?"  
Lloyd grinned even more and grabbed his swords, standing in a very braggy pose.  
"Then, we'll just kick is rear!"  
Shihna cuckled a bit and wipped her tears away.  
"Alright .. I'll try." she said and Lloyd nodded.  
"That's the spirit, Shihna!"

Shihna gulped and stared at the entrance of the temple. She went stiffly ahead, towards the altar where she lost a dear person and lost her self-esteem. She hoped that nobody would notice how much she was trembling.  
"You ready, Shihna?" Lloyd asked and Shihna nodded.  
".. Let's do it!" she stepped towards the altar and with the same lightning struck, Volt appeared before her again. Her heartbeat fastened when she saw those big red eyes staring at her. "I am Shihna. I seek a pact with Volt."  
Volt sparked and twitched.  
Refill frowned. "_I am bound to a pact of Mithos, the hero._"  
"How can Mithos have pacts with Tethe'alla AND Sylvarant seirens?" Lloyd wondered.  
"Maybe he had a rheaird as well." Genius suggested and Shihna cleared her throat.  
"I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos and form a new pact with me." she said.  
".. _My former pact is broken, but I have no desire in dealing with people. Leave!_" Refill translated.  
"Why?" Shihna clenched her fists. She had taken her courage to come here and try again. She wouldn't give up that easily. "We NEED your help!!"  
Volt sparked and twitched and the same lightning arrows shot towards the group. They all fell to the lower level.

Shihna was stiffened with fear to her spot, shivering like mad and she held her hands over her ears. She was terrified by the sound, bringing up her worst memory. Shihna didn't notice how Volt floated down to her and charged an attack at her.  
Maybe it was right this way. Volt killing her. She was supposed to have died twelve years ago. If she had, her grandfather would still be conscious.  
"Shihna ..!!"  
Corrine jumped off of Shihna's shoulder and in front of her, taking the attack.  
".. Corrine!!" Shihna screamed and knelt beside the little burned furball. "W-why ..!?"  
"Shihna .. it's alright .." Corrine weezed. "Volt got betrayed .. and doesn't .. believe in humans anymore .. you .. have to show .. him right .."  
"Corrine! Don't speak! Please!" Shihna begged the little furball.  
Corrine smiled.  
"Try to form the pact .. Shihna .. I know .. you can .." Corrine's body faded away, the golden bell falling to the floor, the clinging sound ringing long in Shihna's ears.  
"D .. don't die .. you can't die .." she muttered to herself.  
Lloyd jumped in front of her and used his swords to parry an attack that Volt sent onto Shihna.  
"Shihna, hang in there!" he snapped at the woman.  
"But .."  
Lloyd followed Volt and parried several other attacks.  
"Dammit, Shihna!" he yelled. "If Volt won't agree, form the pact by force! Do you want to live forever in fear of Volt's shadow!? Do you want Corrine's death to be for nothign!?"  
Shihna shook her head and glared at Volt.  
"For the sake of everyone who helped me .. I demand your power!!" she yelled and charged at the seiren.

_The young Shihna went quietly through the village. The people formed groups and started to whisper among each other, glancing to the girl. Shihna knew what they were talking about and knew it hurt. But she wouldn't show them. She wouldn't show them how much they were hurting her, talking behind her back about how it was her fault that so many people had died. It would hurt more if they told it to her face, but at least they would be honest. And not so many marionette-like with smiling masks, assuring her that she wasn't responsible for anything.  
But she knew better._

Shihna sighed. The sardonyx-stone appeared in front of her and Refill translated Volt's last spark.  
"_Speak your vow and the pact is formed._"  
Shihna sighed relieved.  
"As I said .. for the sake of everyone who helped me .." she said and her foot touched the clinging little bell. She picked it up and smiled a bit. "And for Corrine's sake as well .. I will change the system of the two worlds."  
Volt disappeared as a stream of pure mana into the ring.  
"We did it!" they all cheered and congratulated Shihna, Zelos gave her a hug, which seemed alright. Until he made a remark over her body. He got a slap for that.

They left the temple and Shihna stopped, looking around.  
"Something wrong?" Lloyd asked.  
"No .. I just thought I heard something .." she muttered and entered the EC.

"Corrine .."  
"Mh?" Lloyd looked at her. They were in his home village, Iselia, and Shihna kept glancing towards the west. "Something wrong?"  
"Corrine is calling me .." Shihna mumbled and ran towards the west, into the temple of Martel. "Corrine? Corrine!"  
Lloyd and the others followed her.  
"Corrine! Where are you?" Shihna called and ran through all the rooms of the temple. And stopped at the altar.  
A seiren that looked a lot like Corrine, just bigger, was standing there.  
"Corrine .."  
"My name is Verius." the seiren said. "But I am also Corrine."  
"Then .." Shihna said and looked happy, but hesistant. "We can form a pact .. and you'll be back by my side?"  
"No." Verius said. "I am the seiren of hearts."  
"Seiren of hearts?"  
"Because 'Corrine' was so close to you and the others, Corrine experienced how it was to be the closest form of seiren and human. He found out how the hearts of humans enlighten their lifes. And I have transformed from him, after his death."  
".. so, you won't form a pact .." Shihna sighed and Verius put his blue eyes on Shihna.  
"I am the seiren of hearts. If you think of Corrine, you will think of me." Verius said. "I know that your heart is light and balanced. So, I will always watch over you."  
Verius glowed golden and disappeared.  
Shihna smiled and remembered how she had met Corrine.

_Shihna walked around the seiren institute and saw a little furball attached to machines through cords.  
"Huh? What are you?" she asked and got a sharp paw snatched at her.  
"Shihna, watch out." a researcher warned her. "I see you've found our experiment #352."  
"What is it?" Shihna asked.  
"It's a seiren. An artifical one. We created it. It's name is Corrine." the researcher said proudly. "Or so it claims."  
"An artifical seiren ..?"  
The researcher nodded.  
"Yes. We're doing some tests to find out about the mixture of artifical and real mana in it's tiny body."  
"It seems like it's in pain .." Shihna mumbled to herself.  
"Of course, we have to watch out, since seiren - even an artifical one - have great power in them."  
"So, these machines watch out over him and test him, ey?" she asked and slapped one of her cards into the researcher's face. "_Safureki_!"  
The researcher got knocked backwards and Shihna quickly unplugged all the cords from the tiny seiren.  
".. Why ..?" the seiren asked.  
"You can talk?" Shihna wondered.  
"I'm not as narrow-minded as you humans." Corrine pouted.  
"Hm .. I'm Shihna. And I want to help you." the woman said and smiled. "Your name is Corrine as I heard."  
"Yes .."  
"Well, nice to meet you, Corrine!" Shihna smiled.  
"Nice to meet you, too, Shihna!" Corrine smiled and jumped onto Shihna's shoulder, snuggling it's furry soft face against the woman's cheek._

**Cat-Alin: **The first One Shot!**  
Shihna: **You forgot to put my grandpa back to consciousness.**  
Cat-Alin: **Yeah, but I decided to put Corrine in. And the last part with the memory of meeting Corrine .. it happened like that in the Drama CD.**  
Shihna: **Although you didn't quite understood what they said.**  
Cat-Alin: **Nope. But Shihna really hits the guy with _Safureki_ away.**  
Shihna: **Whatever. We hope you enjoyed this and give us some reviews.**  
Cat-Alin: **Who will be next?  
-spotlight zooming around like mad-


	2. Presea: Soothing Melody of Memories

-_the spotlight stops and the other characters are looking down_-  
**Genius: **P-Presea, it's your turn.**  
Presea: **Ah. Is that so? Alright. -_steps off the stage and sits next to Cat_- Hello.**  
Cat: **You know, I really think you're cute in the japanese Version.**  
Presea: **Cute ..? -_frown_- Oh, yes. That complimental word. Genius said it to me a few times. .. Thank you.**  
Genius: -**_blushes_**-  
Cat: **Yeah, no pro. But in the english Version you just sound .. weird! Seriously, you sound like you're worse than an emo.**  
Presea: **I see.**  
Cat: **Which brings me on the subject of emos ..**  
Presea: **Neko-san. The readers are waiting for my One Shot.**  
Cat: **Oh, yes, right. I'll finish later. Presea's One Shot is about her past and an item that was important in the Drama-CD.**  
Presea: **Neko-san uses a bit of the Drama-CD in each One Shot of the characters she has. Cat-Alin doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, nor Namco, nor the OVA. If she did, she would've changed most of the english voice-actors.

(_The Zone is a place where everything is black-and-white, noiseless and in slow motion. It happens, when the Hypotholomus in your brain stops working)_

_"Ready or not, here I come!"_

_A young girl with bright pink hair, falling loosely over her back was cowering in a bush of a forest, making no sound at all.  
"Where are you ..?" a girl-voice called out playfully._

_The girl in the bush repressed a giggle.  
"Found you!" A girl's head appeared through the thick bush, her hair shorter, but just as pink as the other ones.  
The older looking girl sighed._

_"Alicia, you sure are good at hide-and-seek." she said and crawled out of her hiding place. "You're th younger one-"_

_"And the cuter one!" Alicia grinned happily. "And smarter, and more loveable, my dear Presea."_

_"Aliciaaa ..!"  
The older one started to chase the younger one around in the forest.  
"Alicia! Presea!"_

_The girls stopped chasing and ran together to the big wooden house.  
"Papa!" they called in unison._

_"Come and drink something cold, it's very hot." the father said and went inside for a moment.  
The two girls, obviously sisters, sat down on the shady terrace of the wooden house and let their legs hang from the edges. Their father gave each of them a glass with cold water and the two sucked happily from the straws.  
The soothing, melodical sounds of a music box came from the inside.  
"The hide-and-seek was fun, wasn't it?" Alicia asked and turned to her sister._

_"Yes .. but next time, I'm going to find you faster!"_

_"You'll never!" The sisters grinned at each other and then gave a heartful laugh._

* * *

"Sis!"  
Presea started and looked up from the block of wood she was carving.

"What is it, Alicia?" she asked.  
Her younger sister was as big as Presea was, although she was two years younger.  
"I found a job."

"But you're too young for a real job." the older one frowned.  
Alicia giggled.

"It's not a 'real' job. Well, I get paid, of course." the girl smiled. "I'm going to a Nobleman and do some housework. I know it won't bring much money in, but at least I'm able to help, too."

Presea patted her sister's head.  
"You are a help. You're such a bright little creature. Whenever you come in from collecting herbs or shopping, you bring with sunshine. Even if it's raining outside."

Alicia giggled again.  
"Well, I'll do my best at the work. I mean, you help in the household and carve those little figurines. I can't look bad with such a great sister."

"Alright. Where is this place?"

"Mh, somewhere around the North-East, I guess."

"You don't know?"

"No. The person who employed me, the secretary, asked me to be at the coast tomorrow and he'll pick me up."

"Then it seems to be far away." Presea looked a bit sad. Her younger sister going far away for work. "Well, be careful outside. We may be safe, but still .. there are always Thiefs, Rogues or .."

"I'll watch out. And I'll send you a letter as soon as I can." Alicia calmed her older sister down. "And .. it's really okay if I take Mom's musical box with?"

"Of course it is. Mom would want you to have a little piece of home with you when you go away."

* * *

_Dear Presea, Dear Papa,_

_It's me! Alicia!  
I'm safely at my working place.  
The secretary, Mr George, picked me up at the coast on that day. He's very nice.  
He showed me what my job was - I'm mostly in charge of dusting shelves and keeping the documents in the archive in order.  
Sometimes it's hard, but at least I'm helping. And I like helping._

_Oh, my Boss, a Mr Bryan, he's a bit scary. He's got this darkblue hair, it almost looks black!  
And his beard! It's like a jungle of hair!  
But he's very fair. And two times a week we all, you know the Maids, we get free in the afternoon.  
I mostly spend my time at the beach, the sand is so clean! Everybody seems to work very hard here.  
Maybe you could come visit at some time? Of course, only, if we have enough money._

_Mr Bryan's son is nice!  
He's about seventeen, maybe eighteen, I think. He sometimes helps me and two other maids with the documents in the archive.  
He's going to take over the company from his father some day._

_Well, I've been away only for two weeks, actually .. but it feels sort of like I've left a long time ago.  
But I'm not really sad. Sure, I miss eating Papa's famous Stew or paint the figurines you make, Presea.  
But here .. it's just so great! Altamira's beach is wonderful, the water is so clear and blue and .. oh!  
You _do_ have to come over some time and visit!_

_Actually, I should go now.  
It's almost evening.  
I wanted to tell you that I'm safe and no worries.  
Everything is fine,_

_See you,_

_Alicia_

Presea kept smiling and chuckling to herself while reading her sister's letter.  
Alicia even wrote so childish, yet so 'sunshiney' that it would cheer anyone up.  
Presea trotted towards the forest near the village.  
Her father was chopping some wood, getting ready for cold nights and for making usefull items or furniture.  
"Papa!" Presea called.  
The man stopped with the axe in mid-air and looked.

"Presea-chan! What is it?"

Presea stopped in horror, when she saw the almost chopped through stumpf of the tree fall the wrong side .. towards her father  
"Papa, watch out!"  
The man looked, his eyes widened and he jumped away.  
Not in time.  
His foot was stuck underneath the tree.

"Papa!" Presea kneeled next to him.

"Ow .. Presea .. run to the village. Get some help." her father said, trying to remain calm.  
Presea nodded, got up on her wobbly knees and ran back to the village.  
She didn't have to think.  
She knocked the door of the armor shop open and asked the broad man for help. The next person she got was the retired weapon blacksmith.  
Those were the two strongest men in the village.  
The three ran back, accompanied by the men's sons and they all did their best to lift the tree up, so that Presea's father could crawl out from underneath.

* * *

"Papa?" Presea looked carefully into the working and sleepingroom.  
Her father was on his bed, his foot wrapped in cold towels.  
He told her to come closer.

"What is it? Papa is feeling better. The cold is helping against the swelling."

Presea came closer and held the letter in her hand.  
"Um, Alicia wrote us." she said and gave it to him.  
Her father read it and smiled just like Presea did all the time.

"Ah, Alicia is such a cheery person." their father sighed.

"Papa, how long will it take for the swelling to go down?"

"About five or six weeks. But that's not a long time." he patted her on the head.

Presea was quiet.  
The cold nights were drawing closer and they only had about half of the storage of chopped wood they needed for that time.

* * *

Sieg, Presea's father, seemed to be getting better.  
The swelling went down, although the ankle and foot itself were still looking a bit blueish.  
But that time only went on for a short time.  
He got a fever.  
And every day he got weaker.  
"Papa?" Presea asked, getting a headturn as a reaction. "I'm going to go out and chop the wood. You're too weak and we need more wood. I can do it."  
Her father only moved his hand a bit, not having the strength to speak.

Presea lifted the axe .. and set it back down.  
She sighed.  
"I'm too weak, too .."

Maybe trying to chop the wood was a bad idea. But it had to be done!  
The nights were getting colder and the days shorter.  
If they didn't have enough wood, the whole village would suffer.  
The Combatirs had been taking care of the village's supply of wood for decades.  
And the people of the village were nice people.

"Oh, I do wish I could use the axe .." Presea sighed, lifting the big, heavy axe from the ground.  
And put it back down a few seconds later.  
A man, probably a merchant from his clothing, approached her, having taken a walk around the village.  
"Little Girl, what is the problem?" he asked. His voice was gruff and it sounded rather violent.  
But he spoke also gently with his words ..

"My papa is sick and can't take care of the woodwork, and I myself am too weak to use the axe." Presea told him.

"Ah, Little Girl, I can help you!" the merchant smiled widely. "I know a man, who can give you a little thing that will help you get stronger?"

"He does?"

"Of course. He's not very far from here. Shall I take you to him?"  
Presea hesitated for a moment.  
She didn't want to leave her father alone, especially without telling him.

"I will tell my papa that I'll be gone for a bit. Then I'll follow you." she said and ran into the house.

* * *

"You can help me to get the strength?" Presea asked.  
The man was rather pale and wildish purple hair sprouted form his head.  
He seemed like a giant turtle in his green suit with the wide cape over it.

"Yes, I can. But there is one thing .. I will have to do a little test, you see. Not everybody can use our Crystals without trouble." the man said.

He indicated to her to sit on a chair and while Presea sat quietly, he ran a little staff over her head.  
It glowed and the merchant took some blood from Presea.  
A woman with a distinguishable face and glasses, very young she seemed to be, was in the back, preparing the stone.

Presea stared at the little red oval underneath her collar bone.  
They had told her to swallow a little red-purpleish ball and a few seconds later, Presea had felt like her throat was burning.  
And that little red thing had appeared.  
"This .. little thing will help me?" she asked, wondering if it could work.

"Why yes. Go home and try to lift the axe. It should be easy for you, now."

Presea muttered to herself and went back to the village.  
The axe was still lying there, where she had left it beforehand.  
She grabbed the hilt with boths hand .. and lifted it.  
It was so easy to lift!  
Like it wasn't made out of darkwood and a double-layer of steel, instead, out of plastic.  
She let go with one hand .. and it was still so light.  
With more confidence now and over the first surprise, she went and chopped wood, layering it in the basement of the house.  
Even the wood was light.  
Although her arms weren't very long, she was still able to carry about fifteen of them at the same time.  
Before, she could only carry about seven, eight, if she rested her chin on the pile.

* * *

Night was already at it's peak and Presea was outside of the house, looking upwards.  
Towards the ocean of stars and the thin, glowing curve of the moon.  
Her hand went over the little red bump on her throat.  
It was weird.  
This little thing had only been on her for three days and she had the strength to chop loads of wood and to do this for several hours without getting tired.  
She already had the full supply for the village.  
Everyone had been surprised.  
But one thing was bothering a bit .. she wasn't getting tired.  
And she started to eat less. Everyone would be ravinously hungry after a day of chopping wood.  
What was wrong with her?

"Papa!"  
The figure in bed stirred a bit, as if he was waking up violently.  
Presea looked worried for a second.  
Her father only ate soup or other soft things and slept most of the other time.  
"What .. what is it, Presea?" he asked with a raspy voice.  
"Alicia sent another letter." his daughter told him. "Do you want me to fetch you some water?"  
"No. No .." he was quiet for a moment. "Read the letter out loud? My eyes are too tired to read."  
Presea sat onto the little stool next to the bed and read the letter.  
Her father listened and smiled, hearing about his little girl.

"Papa, I think she's in love with the president's son. '_The president's son is so nice! He helps me with my chores, but he also likes to spend time with me on my free afternoons._'" Presea finally said. "She mostly writes about him."

"It seems so. She may be young, but she's getting older." the father coughed. "It's not surprise .. that's she's falling in love .."

Presea nodded.  
She folded the letter together, put it on a table and went back out to get some fresh air.

It was all a bit weird ..  
Everything seemed to be in a haze around her.  
It felt, like she was in The Zone.  
She still had the colors and she could understand whatever someone was saying, but ..  
It all seemed to pass slower than it should.  
But also that she wasn't really "living in time".  
And whenever she came home .. it was the same situation ..

"Papa" Presea said, her eyes halfclosed, looking tired but a smile on her face. "there's another letter of Alicia."

The figure in the bed didn't move. Ever.  
It just lay there.  
As if she were sleeping.  
Presea sat on the stool.  
And the letter she read, she always put onto the big table in the mainroom.  
And the next day, she'd come home and see that exact same letter on the big table and think it's a new one.  
And she'd sit down on the little stool and read the figure the letter out .. all the time.  
Every day.  
For how long she did it, she didn't realize.

Her name got more popular and the merchant who had once brought her to the scientist who gave her that stone in her throat, his name was Vharley .. he gave her jobs to do.  
First easy ones like getting the supply of a different city or village for wood.  
And it went bigger, until she was told to chop the Sacred Wood and bring it to the empirial city.

* * *

"P-Presea, wait!" someone called.

The girl stopped in her tracks, holding the bar of the cart carrying the Sacred Wood, and turned around.  
A boy with a silver mane called her, two girls and another boy, probably late teenager, were with him.

"Hello." the older boy greeted her. "Better introduce ourselves first .. My name is Lloyd. This is Collet" he held his hand towards the younger girl with long blonde hair and black eyes. "and this is Raine-Sensei" the older woman had silver hair like the boy. "and he is-"

"I-I-I am G-genius!" the boy squeaked the last word high.

"Why are you so red ..?" Lloyd asked.

While Genius tried to stutter an explanation to Lloyd, Presea waited.  
What did they want from her?  
Were they from a village and wanted to ask for her help to get enough wood?  
Perhaps they were messengers from Ozette, telling her her father was feeling better .. No, she would've known their faces, if they were from Ozette.

"Um, could we help you carry the wood?" Genius asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

Why?  
It wasn't very heavy.  
Nothing seemed to be heavy anymore. Everybody knows that .. usually.  
She could wield axes about twice her size without trouble. Of course, it was in a wingpack of hers for storage.  
She was strong. And she didn't feel much like eating or sleeping. But she didn't mind.  
It was okay.

"You see .." Lloyd said, feeling uncomfortable. But why? "Our friend's live depends on the help of the king. And we're not allowed in, so we thought .."

For her help?  
Was she supposed to help their friend?

"Sorry, this may seem rather wild." Raine said, chuckling about her students being unclear. "You see, we have a letter for the King and would like to give it to him as soon as possible. Could we help you get the Sacred Wood inside? We'd appreciate it."

Oh, they wanted to get into the castle .. very well.  
She was usually alone, but perhaps they wouldn't mind so much if they pretended to be with her.  
Presea nodded and let go of the bar, going a few steps ahead.

"P-presea?" Genius asked.

"Carry the Wood, please." she said and waited for them to catch up.

The two boys tried their best, taking the wood from each side and lifting it.  
But it was too heavy for them.  
Presea sighed silently and grabbed the bar again, pulling the wood after herself.  
The group caught up with her quickly.

"Who's there?" the guard asked, looking through his armed head.

"We're bringing the Wood." Presea said.

".. Who are they?"

"Helpers. It's an important task .." Presea muttered quietly and the guards opened the door, letting them in.

Inside the castle, the group was first astounded by the distance between the floor and the ceiling, the golden and white ornaments on the walls.  
The red carpet going through the whole castle was thick and soft, their steps making no sound on it.

"What are we supposed to do with the Wood?" Lloyd asked.

"Leave it here."

"Lloyd, it would be best if we looked for the King now." Raine told him. "But we should take Presea with us. It would look suspiscious, if we came in with her and just walk around freely without her."

Lloyd agreed with her and asked Presea, if it was okay if she went along with them a bit more.  
She agreed, although Presea was wondering to herself in her mind.  
Why were they talking to her, as if she was still a child?  
She didn't quite know how much time had passed since she got that stone in her throat.  
But it must've been a while. The two kids she used to babysit were getting bigger.  
So, she, Presea, must've gotten bigger as well.

"Hmm .. thank you for handing over the letter." the King said, leaning with one arm on his cane. He was pale, but looked like he was still in charge. "I will attend to you in a minute."  
He told a servant to bring them to the Crimson Room.

"I hope they understand our situation .." Raine muttered to herself. "Although, most likely they are going to kill us on the spot."

"What?" Genius squeaked. "But .. why? All we want is a little help to get Collet's soul back!"

"Remember, Genius, the Chosen of Sylvarant is a a hinderance for them to keep their flourishment."

"Then .. then we should at least let them free Presea! She doesn't have anything to do with it."

Presea looked over to the boy.  
He was right. She didn't belong to them.  
She only helped them to get into the castle. Nothing more.  
Besides, now that she had delivered the Sacred Wood to the castle, her duty was done.  
She could go home.

"Wait a minute!" Raine stopped the guards from getting closer. "I want to make something clear to you."

"What is there to get clear?" the pope snapped at her. "You're from Sylvarant, bringing the Chosen along. Clearly, you want to make sure Tethe'alla is being destroyed!"

"No. Our goal right now is to get Collet's soul back into her body. Therefore, she will not have fulfilled her duty as the Chosen One and your Tethe'alla is safe."

"I see .." the pope understood and scratched his moustache.

"Do you mean we should abandon Sylvarant?"

"Alright, we'll do it." Lloyd said and got snapped at from Genius. "Once we get Collet's soul back, we don't know what's going to happen."

"Very well. We will give you help to get your Chosen's soul back. But I will let the Chosen One of Tethe'alla follow you." he turned to the young man with the long curly, red hair. "Make sure they do not go back to Sylvarant, Zelos."

* * *

Sybak ..  
Something was wrong with her ..  
Her whole body shook. She felt her temperature rising and sinking rapidily.  
But she couldn't put her finger on it.

"I .. don't like this city." Presea suddenly said. "Let's go."

"Sorry, Rosebud." Zelos said and smiled. "It won't take long. We'll get you back home, soon."

They had agreed to get her back home, but Collet's soul was priority number One.  
While Lloyd was busy carving a new charm into the keycrest, after hearing what exactly those Exspheres are, they all had nothing to do but wait.

Exspheres nourish from their host until nothing except the body is left like a shell.  
If they weren't taken off in time, with a keycrest, the Exsphere produged from the host's body and fell off.  
The body, without it's own mana protecting or stabilizing it, turned into a ravaging monster, killing everything and everyone at sight.

In the cellar lab there were two scientists, both half-elves.  
The group had their hands tied, seen as criminals now, Genius and Raine taken away because they were half-elves.  
The woman of the two, Kate, looked at them, pushing her glasses up.  
"You were born humans. Why throw your freedom away?" she asked them.

"We didn't do anything wrong." Lloyd growled, angered that his hands were tied.

"Um, you did try to get back to Sylvarant and that was a No-No." Zelos reminded him.

The discussion went on, until the woman's eyes fell onto Presea and she gasped.  
"Presea?"

"You know her?"

"Yes .. she is part of the Angelus Project." Kate told them and wanted to ask Presea something, extending her hand.

Presea flinched, slapped Kate's hand away and quickly went to the corner of the room.  
Her thoughts were racing and she felt cold, then hot and cold again.

"Let her die because of that Exsphere?" Lloyd snapped. "How can you do that sort of stuff?"

"How can you treat Half-Elves like that?" Kate countered.

"I treat them like everyone else!"

They eventually got freed by a woman with black hair, who got introduced to Presea as "Shihna".  
Kate tried to keep them in, but Lloyd started to argue with her.

"I suggest a deal." she finally said. "I will let you go. _But_ you have to come back, once you've got your friends. If they really are half-elves .. I will tell you how to release Presea from the experiment."

Presea flinched.  
Experiment? Get rid of it?  
That stone in her neck? Why?  
Sure, it was going to kill her .. but if she lost it, she'd be weak again and useless, her father still not having recovered.

* * *

Ozette .. her home.  
Finally, she was back!  
She quickly dispatched herself from the group and ran down the big moss covered treestem and saw the man who put the stone on her in front of her house.  
He was asking her for something and as soon as he got it, the others had caught up.  
".. Friends?" he asked.

"Carriers."

"Ah. Thank you for helping her." the man said, sneering. "She's the only one strong enough to cut the Sacred Wood."  
And with a cackle he left.

"Presea, come with us? We got to see Altessta for your keycrest."

She shook her head.  
The keycrest wasn't important at the moment.  
What was important, was, that she finished the carved statues she was told to make and bring them to Sybak.  
"I got to do my job." she muttered and left with a slight bow.

They followed her inside, flinching when the door closed and they smelled the area.  
Why they were so surprised or, rather .. shocked, she didn't know.  
Perhaps it was gloomy?  
Or dirty. She hadn't gotten the time to clean for the last few days.

"Urgh .." Lloyd held his hand over nose and mouth. "How come she never noticed?"

"Perhaps it's the parasitism of the Exsphere." Raine wondered.

Notice what?  
And they'd better not be too loud, Papa was asleep.  
He slept a lot, but it was okay. They say that sleep is the best medicine.  
"Presea, are you coming with us?" Regal, who was an escaped prisoner and wanted to have a talk with her, asked her.

"No." Presea shook her head. "I need to do my job."  
They left, leaving Presea back.

* * *

Presea flinched.  
She was in Ozette and two dragons were flying off, one having an unconscious Collet lying in it's claw.  
"I .." she muttered and looked at the group. "W-what's going on? .. Papa?"

She ran down the moss covered treestem again, banging the door open and storming into the bedroom.  
The others were at her heels and she slowly tapped to the bed, shivering slightly.  
All she could was mute a gasp that rose in her chest.  
The thing in the bed wasn't a person anymore. It was a skeleton, dirty and filthy, still parts of decaying flesh on it.  
Her father ..  
"W-what .. have I done ..?" Presea muttered.  
And finally the scream inside her throat rose and it got out.

Presea turned to the group. She felt drained and as if she had just woken up from a deep sleep.  
"Great many thanks to you for helping me with Papa's grave .."

"You feeling okay?" Raine asked worried.

"Yes ... I'm sorry. I've been a burden on you the whole time."

"So you remember?"

"Most of it."

"Presea," Regal said and looked more serious than he did before. "do you have any other family?"

Presea shook her head.  
"No mother or elder siblings?"

"No. I got a younger sister. She left for work, and the last I heard of her was in a letter. And my mother died when I was a child."

"When? You still are." Zelos said bluntly.

"Oh .. you're right .."

That was perhaps the thing that had shocked her the most.  
How long it was since she lost herself she didn't know. But her body hadn't matured at all.  
She was still the small, slim figure she was when Alicia left for that nobleman's maison.  
It was great to be back with all her senses .. but what good was it?  
Now she knew why everyone had avoided her so much .. for how many years had she been staying the same?  
And now she could live normal again .. if you could call it .. not in the body you were supposed to be.

Out of her thought trail, Presea noticed that they had just finished another pact.  
They were close to Meltokyo and Shihna had just finished defeating the earth spirit, Gnome.  
Before, they had flown over to Flanoir where Celsius had been.  
Presea tugged Collet's sleeve. The Chosen had gotten her soul back through a keycrest.

"Collet-san, I want to apologize again. It's my fault that you were captured."

"It's okay, Presea-chan." Collet smiled. "It's my fault that I'm such a hopeless Chosen .."

"You're not." Presea insisted, having told this to Collet already. "It's not your fault that your life was more important to your friends than the world's regeneration."

"You're right." Collet chuckled and smiled even wider.

Another thing she couldn't do herself anymore .. Smile.  
She had managed a tiny smile a while ago, but .. it wasn't the same as those years ago ..  
Perhaps, if she met Alicia again the two of them could laugh and joke around like when they were small.

* * *

".. No!" Presea screamed, running the few meters still to the big flame that was Ozette.  
From afar they had seen a burning village and, to Presea's intuition, thought that it was Ozette.  
They were right.  
The entrace to the Inn was blocked by a piece of the roof beam having crashed down on it, the houses were crashing down and folding themselves together.  
Presea dashed forwards, just barely getting missed by burning wood falling or flames licking her feet.  
Down the moss covered treestem, she almost got close enough to grab the door and run in when a pair of gloved hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.

"Don't, Presea!" Lloyd warned her, tightening his grip when she struggled.

"Lloyd-san, let go!" Presea struggled, screeched and tried to wrestle herself free, getting into her home. "I need to get in!"

"You're going to die, if you try!"

"Let go, I need to get the-"

_"And .. it's really okay if I take Mom's musical box with?"_

Presea blinked, stopped struggling and just lay limp in Lloyd's arms, staring at the roof burning, faded memory slipping through her head in fast motion.  
She forgot .. Alicia had taken the music box of their mother ..

* * *

Presea clenched her fists.  
Something .. was wrong ..  
She felt so .. weird .. like there was a storm in her small little chest and it wanted to break free.  
Her head spun and hurt.  
Perhaps .. she was .. angry? At whoever was responsible for the destruction of her village.  
Because that fire wasn't a natural one .. everyone was certain of that ..

_B-bmp  
_What was that?  
It was loud ..  
_B-bmp  
_It sounded familiar, like she heard it a long time ago but she couldn't recognize it.  
_B-bmp .. B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp .._

The others went a bit ahead to Altessta, the dwarf who refused to make Presea a keycrest.  
_B-bmp .. B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp  
_The sound was getting faster, but also it steadied itself for a while, then went faster again when she thought of the destruction of her home.  
Lloyd was hanging behind a bit of the others and Presea took a chance and pulled his sleeve a bit.  
"L-Lloyd-san?"

"Mh?" Lloyd stopped and turned around, looking at her.

"U-uh .. th-there's this .." she stuttered, her hand still tugging Lloyd's sleeve, the other one on the left side of her chest. "There's this .. this beating .. and it's fast and won't .. it won't stop."

Lloyd looked at her for a moment, surprised and disbelieving, but then smiled a bit.  
"That's your heart. It beats all the time, you need it for living."

"A-ah .."  
Lloyd caught up with the others, Presea tagging behind him, slower and clutching her chest.  
Her .. her heart.  
_B-bmp_  
She needed it .. but .. it hadn't ..  
_B-bmp  
_It hadn't beaten for a while ..  
_B-bmp, B-bmp  
_At least she doesn't remember hearing a beating of those sorts when she didn't have a keycrest.  
So this thing ..  
_B-bmp, B-bmp  
_it was ..  
_B-bmp, B-bmp  
_counting off her time ..  
_B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp  
_It should stop!  
It was beating of her time for living, every second it beat, the fewer she'd live and die!  
_B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp  
_It had to stop!  
It had been better, before she got the keycrest!

* * *

She didn't have a home anymore ..  
It burned down .. Papa and Mama were dead ..  
Presea got an idea. She could go and live with Alicia at that nobleman's place.  
She was good at housework. Not as good as Alicia, but still able to help.  
Alicia was definitely grown up now .. perhaps.  
She'd tease Presea because of her height and pretend that she, Alicia, was now the older sister.  
Good old Alicia ..

".. Dead!"  
Presea was in shock.  
Her sister, her _younger_ sister, had dead!  
Several years ago, too!  
Why .. why .. there was no question that could form in her head now.  
But she had lost everything now .. Mama, Papa, her home .. and now she had no little sister anymore.  
She was completely alone ..

"Take this." the old man in the red coat said, handing her a card. "Alicia's grave is on the top of the Lezareno Company's building. I'm sure Alicia would be pleased to get a visit of her younger sister."

And while the others were wondering how Alicia could be Presea's younger sister, if Presea had made clear that she was the older one.  
Presea clutched the card and heard her heart beating loudly in her ears again.  
She tapped onto the elementary track with the group and drove to the Lezareno Company.  
Regal had said that he would wait for them outside of Altamira.  
The guards at the elevators wanted to see their cards, so Presea showed them the card they got from the old man.

"Oh, that's Mr George's card. Very well, go on."

_The secretary, Mr George .._

George? The name sounded familiar, the longer she thought about it.  
So .. this George was the seceretary of Alicia's boss. Then this is where Alicia worked.  
Where she lived. Had written letters to her father and Presea.

Standing before Alicia's grave seemed so surreal.  
Like it was all a bad dream.  
Or an illusion. She'd find out soon that Mama had died, yes, but Papa had recovered from that crushed bone that day and Alicia was coming home for a few days ..  
"An exsphere?"

"What?" Presea asked, looking at Lloyd, who was pointing at the grave.  
Indeed, in the middle of the grave, underneath the flourishing 'Alicia Combatir', but above the 'She lives on in beloved memory' was an exsphere engraved.

"But .. why?" Presea muttered, wondering if her sister had gone through that whole procedure with the exsphere, like she did.  
A big part of her hoped that she didn't.  
Finally, when Presea thought she couldn't think straight anymore, they left and went through the elevator down, but landed in the president's office instead of on the groundfloor.

Fine, soothing tones were heard and Presea blinked.  
She got off the elevator, the others following, wondering where she was going and why.  
On the shelf right across from the president's desk was a box, the lid open.  
It had a rectangular form, made out of wood, hand-made, the carvings and dents marked with a deep red color.  
The music was coming out of a little plattform inside, little sticks rising with the melody.

"That's Master Bryan's most treasured object." George told them when he noticed them. "He polished it every day and .. when the incident happened .. he asked me to do it for him, since he couldn't."

"Master Bryan?" Presea asked.  
_He's got this darkblue hair, it almost looks black!  
And his beard! It's like a jungle of hair!  
_"A middle-aged man with darkblue hair?"

"No, Master Bryan Senior, sadly, passed away several years ago. But his son has taken over."

"What's so special about the music box?" Zelos asked.

"Nothing." George blunted. "But Master Bryan Junior treasures it, because he got it from the person he loved the most."

"_Promised Land .._" Presea muttered and turned to the group. "It's from my family. I know the melody, _Promised Land_, the carvings were hand-made from Papa. He must've gotten it from Alicia, she took it with as a keepsake when she left."

"Ah, I see-Oh, Master Bryan!" George looked over at the elevator.  
Regal came into the office.

"Regal?"

Regal nodded slightly, looking ashamed.  
"I wanted to visit Alicia's grave and I saw you from the elevator .."

"You're Alicia's ..?"

".. Yes." Regal sighed. "Alicia and I were in love. The music box I got from her shortly before .. Vharley had wanted the rights to the mine, taking Alicia hostage to blackmail me. I gave him the rights, but when he returned Alicia to me ..."

Lloyd and Genius knew what he meant.  
Anyone who got an exsphere without a keycrest, and then removed - or if no compatibility was there, the owner turned into a blood-seeking monster.  
"I .. She begged me to kill her .." Regal finally got out. "I turned myself in and got sent to jail .."

"I had feared something like this would happen." George told them. "I asked the two to leave each other .."

"But we didn't." Regal smirked in spite of himself.

Presea felt how her eyes got moist, but her lips stretching just a little tiny bit.  
"Alicia was always stubborn with that .."

"Presea, if you'd like the music box back it would be no problem for me." Regal told her. "It belongs to your family and you have every right to take it back."

"No .." Presea shook her head. "Alicia gave it to you and she wanted you to keep it. It's okay."  
And she smiled.

* * *

**Cat: **Yes, finally I got the second One Shot done!**  
Presea: **Neko-san, you should go to bed. It's past midnight.**  
Cat: **I know and I'm tired and my legs are swollen from the heat and blabla, but I wanted to finish this.**  
Presea: **She got stuck for a while.**  
Cat: **A LONG while. The song "Promised Land" is actually fully called "Taiyou no Rakuen Promised Land". It's from Mermaid Melody and I mean the musical box version for this One Shot.**  
Presea: **We hope you enjoyed reading this One Shot.**  
Cat: **Who's next? And I left some scenes out, but, personally, those are some boring scenes to me.  
_-Spotlight spins again while Presea goes to the break room-_  
(If there's someone specific you want, say so in the review)


	3. Collet: The value of Life

**Cat: **Let's see .._  
-The Spotlight stops and there's a small shriek-_**  
Cat: **.. Get up from the floor.**  
Collet: **_-scrambles up into the chair-_ I'm sorry.**  
Cat: **No big deal ..**  
Collet: **Oh .. I'm sorry.**  
Cat: **Why did it have to be you!**  
Collet: **Um .. Because I'm the Heroine? I'm sorry.**  
Cat: **Grah! _-cracking knuckles-_ I'll remain calm .. remember what the chapter is about ..**  
Collet: **Me?**  
Cat: **Argh! Now I forgot what it's about .. I wanted to use Omoi no Yukue for it .. Colloyd warning!

* * *

"Hey .." Lloyd said in a quiet voice, looking at the rocky ground beneath them. "Can I ask you something?  
Unable to tell him with words, Collet just inclined her head to the side, her eyes wide open  
with a questioning look in them.  
"Are you really okay with this?" he asked, finally meeting her azure eyes with his brown ones. "Losing your senses for the sake of becoming an Angel?"  
Collet took his hand, palm up.  
Since she had lost her voice and started to 'say' things by writing them with her finger on his hand, he didn't wear his gloves anymore.  
'I am becoming an Angel to resurrect Sylvarant - to create a peaceful world you can live in.'  
Lloyd continued to stare at his palm, although she had stopped writing a while ago.  
"You're strong, Collet .. I would've been scared." he admits. "Let's go back down, it's getting late."  
Collet nodded and stayed a few steps behind Lloyd, who decended the mountain first,  
she, though, stopped in her tracks, standing in the middle of the Moutain's top.  
With a gulp she turned around and stared at the thin greyish silhouette of the Tower in the far distance.

_Scared ..  
Of course I'm scared.  
I'm scared that, no matter what I'll do, Sylvarant won't be regenerated.  
And you won't live in a peaceful world.  
That's all I want.  
To know that you are safe and happy._

"Chosen."  
Collet looked over her shoulder from the window she had been standing at.  
She was used to being adressed like that by now, although it had only been for a month.  
Kratos, the mercenary who had been engaged to protect her on the Journey, stood in the doorway of the Inn,  
holding a small candle that only shed a bit of light around his perimeter.  
Since Collet couldn't sleep anymore, she's been spending her nights gazing up at the moon,  
watching it wax and wane, counting the stars - anything to keep her mind off of her condition.  
"Let's go." Kratos said and went out of the Inn with Collet, when she stepped close to him.  
The dragon, which was to be their way of transport to the Tower, was waiting outside, chained to a post.  
Kratos helped her up, undid the chain and got behind her.  
The dragon almost immediately went up into the air and flew south.

* * *

When they arrived at the Tower, the dragon was sent back to Hima.  
Collet stared at the black, thick portal still blocking the entrance.

_That door will open when I touch it with my hand.  
And then .. there's not turning back.  
_  
Collet held her hand against the door, a crest light up on it and it opened up with a rumble.  
Kratos, whose back was still towards her glanced her way over his shoulder.  
"I take it that you don't want to wait for the others?" he asked, although he knew the answer.  
Collet had made it clear to him that she wanted to leave for the Last Seal in the night,  
when everyone was asleep.  
So that no one could see what she was going to do.  
Kratos smirked at her face that had no real expression looking at him.  
"I thought so." was all he said and the two of them entered the Tower.  
The inside appeared to be like space, nothing was there aside from a countless number of coffins  
floating around in the air and the glasslike path right in front of them to the Altar.  
Their steps made clinking noises on the path, Collet hesisating to step onto the Altar.  
She took a deep breath before putting her foot onto the glassern platform and sunk down,  
folding her hands.

".. Collet!"  
The girl flinched at the sound of the familiar voice, but kept praying.

_What's he doing here?  
It's not morning!  
He shouldn't have come!  
Kratos and I left early so he wouldn't find out.  
Please, Lloyd, forget what you see, forget about me and go away.  
Just .. leave .._

"Very good, Chosen." Remiel, the angel, smiled down to her. "Now, surrender your heart and your memories.  
Then, you will become a true Angel and have finished your Journey."  
Worried mutters were from the crowd behind while Collet got up and nodded solemnly.  
"Collet, please, reconsider!" Lloyd called from the little distance to the altar. "Do you really want to die?  
Give up your heart and memories, all the happy memories? They cancel out the sad ones, but you mustn't give _yourself_ up!"  
The girl flinched at the last word and looked over her shoulder.

_Give myself up?  
I can't do anything else - I have to destroy myself to regenerate this world.  
Give up on sleep, on feeling.  
On remembering the times you smiled at me.  
The time when we were young and we played with Genius in the pond by his house.  
But also forget the horrible sights in the Human Ranches.  
I can't bear the sight of Death and Destruction.  
And if I have to die to make this world peaceful .. so be it._

"Please, Collet, don't!"  
Lloyd went towards her, extending his hand to put it on her shoulder,  
but Collet turned a step away, so he missed her.  
_I'm sorry, Lloyd .. It can't be helped._  
Lloyd flinched when he heard her voice in his head.  
Collet's gaze turned to Shihna.  
_I'm sorry, Shihna. Remiel can't regenerate Tethe'alla, too._  
She smiled, closing her eyes halfways to hide the tears about to spill.  
_Goodbye._

* * *

"Collet ..?"  
_Who?  
Someone's calling my name.  
_"It's .. not working .."  
_What isn't working?  
What are you talking about?  
It's so cold here .. I can't see anything.  
_"Maybe .. skill .. high enough .."  
_The voices .. seem familiar.  
I should try to open my eyes - but my eyelids feel so heavy.  
Like they're made out of steel.  
But I have to try ..!_

_It's dark here.  
Even with my eyes open, I'm blind.  
There's nothing here, except me.  
No floor.  
No walls, not a ceiling either.  
I'm floating in midair, supported by nothing.  
Carefully I lift my hands in front of me.  
Nothing, I don't feel them touching anything.  
A metall sound makes me jump .. there's something around my throat.  
It's cold and thin, a necklace apparently.  
The .. present that Lloyd gave me ..  
Lloyd ..!_

_Cold!  
_Collet grabbed the slender hand that touched her throat.  
"Don't!" she gasped, trying to pry the fingers off. "Hands off of the present!"  
Genius, trapped with their friends in a cage out of mana, gasped. "She spoke!"  
The woman with sleek green hair huffed. "Doesn't matter if she can or not, that Keycrest will come off!"  
She made a grab for Collet again, who, in return, grabbed the Chakrams from her back and attacked her,  
cutting the woman's arm.  
"Let go!" she snapped at the woman, but her foot slipped and she landed painfully on a device that cracked  
and, fortunately, made the cage disappear.

"Collet." Lloyd smiled widely at his childhood friend.  
"Lloyd," Collet bounced up and down out of joy. "thank you so much for the present!"  
"Hmmm!" A young man with long, red curls nodded in appreciation. "Collet-chan is really cuter when she smiles."  
Collet looked over at him and frowned.  
"Um .. Zelos, right?"  
Zelos nodded and took her hands in his. "You remember my name, I am so honored, Collet-chan. You know,  
we Chosens have to stick together, right?"  
Collet nodded, getting smiles and pats on the back for 'coming back' from everyone.  
"Collet." Lloyd said and she turned to him. "Welcome back."  
"Hehe," Collet nodded, giving a little curtsey. "I'm home."

* * *

"Sensei?"  
Raine turned to her student, who had approached her when the two of them were a bit offside the others.  
"We're back in Sylvarant, but .." Collet hesitated with speaking. "Is it really good for me to be back?"  
"What do you mean?" Raine asked the girl, crossing her arms.  
"I abandoned Sylvarant to rescue Tethe'alla." Collet confessed, getting a confused look from her teacher. "When we were  
at the Tower of Salvation, I prayed to Remiel and asked for him to regenerate Sylvarant."  
".. but?" Raine's eyebrow shot up.  
".. But I mostly wished for Tethe'alla's Regeneration in my heart."  
Raine sighed, knowing how much the girl was tormenting herself in her mind for it.  
"Collet, you didn't abandon Sylvarant. Neither Tethe'alla. We're forming pacts with the Summonspirits at the moment,  
to seperate the two Worlds from each other, so they will not vie for each other's mana anymore." she explained. "So, we are actually  
regenerating both worlds. Okay?"  
Collet thought about it for a second and nodded then.  
"You're right."  
When Raine went to catch up with the others, who had stopped a bit further on.

_Why am I suffering like this, then?  
Every morning my shoulder hurts and when I check, .. it's there.  
The punishment I get for straying from my duty keeps growing every day.  
And soon, it will suffocate me._

Carefully, Collet's hand traced the necklace around her neck, the pendant, mixed with Inhibitor Ore, formed around her Cruxis Crystal.  
Lloyd's present for her sixteenth birthday .. the birthday that changed everything. He couldn't give her the present on the same day,  
it wasn't done. And then, so the farewell wouldn't be too painful, she had lied to him.  
For the first time ever. But she had done it to keep him from hurt.  
It hadn't worked. Collet smiled to herself, remembering. She should've known that he would chase after her.  
And when he tried to give her the present after he met her again .. it was broken.  
Again and again the present never reached her, until he gave it to her to regain her soul.

_It's not working .. Lloyd.  
The crystal is rejecting the crest you made.__My body is hardening. Crystalizing.  
I wonder .. will I survive the crystalization until the world is regenerated?_

* * *

With a start, Collet sat up in bed.  
Confused, she looked around, taking in her surroundings.  
The white bedspread, the table with the ruffled sheet were familiar. She realized that she was back home, in her room.  
She couldn't quite remember what had happened .. they had been at Iselia's Human Ranch last ..  
Collet gasped when she remembered how Forycstus' attack, originally intended for someone else, had hit her and torn her  
clothes, revealing the green shell-like skin.  
Lloyd .. had seen it ..!  
Steps were getting closer, ascending the stairs to her room and Collet knew instinctively that it was Lloyd.  
Scooting back to the corner of her bed, clawing her hands into the blanket, she stared at the door, afraid of it opening soon.  
She didn't want to see Lloyd .. more, she didn't want Lloyd to see her. She was so ashamed of her body.  
How she couldn't stop the process. How she didn't _want_ to stop it!  
A calm, deep voice was heard.  
"Lloyd, leave the Chosen alone for now. She's still too distressed. Give her some time."  
".. you're right." Lloyd's voice sighed and his footsteps got quieter the farther he got from her room.

Carefully, Collet turned the knob and slowly opened the door a bit.  
She peeked down the stairs, it had been rather quiet for a while and she wanted to know if everyone had left.  
Someone was leaning against the wall next to her stairs, dressed in darkblue.  
Kratos turned his head towards her, having heard the door and Collet flinched a tiny bit.  
Daring to leave her room and walk down some steps, Collet leaned out of the wooden frame at the start of the stairs and  
looked around. Except for her grandmother and Kratos, no one was there.  
"Lloyd and the others have left to see their village again." the mercenary told her and Collet sighed quietly,  
sitting down on the last step, pulling the pyjama legs up a bit.  
"I .." Collet started, not quite sure how to put it in words. "I'm .. rather scared."  
"Your feelings are quite understandable, Chosen." Kratos said. "You were prepared to die for the sake of regenerating Sylvarant,  
right now you are in danger of dying from your illness. You're scared of death, you're scared that you'll die before you can  
fulfill your duty as the Chosen. Scared of letting everyone down."  
Collet nodded, realizing that Kratos saw right through her.  
Her hand grabbed her shoulder. She could feel the hard shell underneath, smooth like glass and yet rough like stone.  
"I'm .. ashamed. I didn't want Lloyd to see it." she confessed, surprised by the quiver in her voice, about to break.  
Kratos put his own hand over hers, leaning down a bit. "I implore you, Chosen. Do not give up too soon. Believe in Lloyd.  
You know him well." his voice was calming and his lips stretched to a smile. "That boy won't leave anything undone, until you are saved."  
Collet looked up to him and finally nodded.

"Collet. I'm sorry."  
The Chosen tore her gaze from the night sky and looked to the side. Spending the night at Dirk's, everyone had gone to bed.  
Collet wasn't very tired and decided to go onto the terrace to watch the stars. And memories had flooded through her again.  
On this very terrace she and Lloyd had talked on the evening of her birthday. Here she had lied to him. Here she had said her farewell,  
without Lloyd knowing that it was one.  
Now, though, Lloyd had stepped onto the terrace a bit ago, standing close to Collet.  
"What?" she asked, wondering why he apologized.  
"About .. well, I was talking with Sensei and .." he stuttered, averting his eyes from her. "She says that my keycrest for you caused ..  
your condition. I'm sorry, Collet. It's my fault."  
Collet shook her head.  
"It's not, Lloyd. Don't blame yourself." she told him. "I think that the Crystal was made to not succumb to any keycrest. It wouldn't have  
mattered who had made one. This would've happened anyway. It's my punishment."  
Lloyd looked at her in surprise.  
"What makes you say that? Because you didn't regenerate Sylvarant? Collet, who would've agreed to that, if they had known the truth?"  
"Lloyd .. _I_ knew. Shortly after the second seal. Losing hunger .. sleep .. it quickly made me understand that I had to let go of everything  
that made me human. To die for the sake of regeneration. I was glad, knowing that my death would mean peace. Knowing that my death  
would've helped make a world for you to live in."  
The boy was quiet, listening to her words, realizing that she was so much more mature than him in her mind.  
Yet her words felt like knives, piercing his body, his heart and mind. He felt angry at how she talked so calmly and serene about sacrificing herself.  
"Collet ..!" he snapped, searching for the right words. "You don't seem to realize what .."  
He sighed deeply, walking to the corner of the terrace, leaning heavily on the banister.  
"You .. don't seem to realize what you would've done if you really had sacrificed yourself."  
Collet watched him quietly, her head inclined to the side. "What do you mean?"  
"Imagine what we would've had to live with .." he muttered, his hands gripping the banister tightly. "If you had sacrificed yourself, regenerated  
Sylvarant successfully, you would've died .. for our sake. Sensei, Genius, Shihna .. me .. we would've lived with the knowledge of having  
killed you. To live because of your death. It would've been torture .."  
The girl looked at him in schock, never having really thought of it.  
She stepped over to him and locked her arms around his left one, leaning her head against his shoulder.  
"I'm sorry, Lloyd. I never thought of it that way." she said. "I'm actually glad that you wanted to stop me. Glad that, even after I lost my soul,  
you looked for a way to regain it. Glad that I can still fight alongside you."  
"Collet .."

_Hearing from him how wrong my sacrifice would've been, made me realize that .. somewhere deep in my heart,  
I hadn't felt calm about dying for the sake of the regeneration.  
That a part in me, however small it was, had yearned to continue living in this world.  
But .. however happy I was hearing his words that night ..  
I felt scared and hollow the next day.  
Seperated from the others, like a veil was between me and everyone else.  
That, no matter what we'd try to do, it wouldn't work.  
And I'd still die from this disease .._

Genius yawned and focused his eyes on the long rows of books in front of him again.  
Thick books, thin books, old and new, standing in rows and filling up the shelves. The circular room was crammed with  
so many books, that a lot of them were laying loosely on the tables or stacked in piles around the floor.  
Each of them were looking at a different shelf, trying to find the specific book that held the answer on how to cure this disease.  
The king had finally given them permission to search the royal library, but they hadn't found anything yet and with every hour  
that they lost, hope was slowly starting to disappear from everyone.  
Nobody said a word, but it was noticable.  
A few shelves down, Collet coughed a few times, trying to surpress it, to not cause any attention.  
"You alright, Collet?" Lloyd asked, who was standing at the next shelf.  
"Mh, I'm okay. Just a bit dusty." she answered, scratching her neck and flinched.  
It was there. She felt it.  
It had spread, finally reaching her neck and already messing with her airways.  
Not much longer and it would cover her entire neck, suffocate her ..

Raine looked through a pile stacked high on the floor, sighing when she found nothing.  
It seemed to be a signal, since everyone stopped and gathered around the table.  
The silence was depressing, heavy in the air and nobody dared to say a word.  
"Well, this isn't good." Zelos finally said in a disapproving matter. "Pretty girls are supposed to have a long lasting life."  
A glare from Shihna silenced him immediately, before Collet nodded slightly.  
"It's no use, then." she said calmly. "I'm really grateful to all of you for having looked for a cure, you guys. But it seems like  
there is none. It wasn't meant to be, after all."  
"You can't choose death to be the easy way out." Lloyd told her, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her around so  
she faced him. "You have to live, Collet!"  
The girl flinched, his words having such an impact on her that she felt tears in her eyes.  
"Ah!" Genius gasped and traced a book's back, wiping a fine layer of dust off. "Guys, I think this is it!"  
The book was quickly taken out and leaved through, searching for the illness which had the same symptoms.  
"It really is!" Raine exclaimed happily when she found the cure and the entire group joined in for a big cheer.

* * *

_It was all over ..  
I finally didn't have to burden myself with the title anymore.  
I can go back to where I really belong._

The girl's steps hastened the closer she got to Iselia's gate.  
Already she could see several familiar faces and when she entered she saw her grandmother close by.  
"Grandmother!" she called and hugged her, happy to be back.  
"Oh, Chosen One." the old lady said.  
Collet backed off a little to look her grandmother into the eyes.  
"No, grandmother. I'm no longer the Chosen."  
"Yes .." her grandmother laid a frail hand onto Collet's back and rubbed it slightly. "Collet, you have made us all proud."  
From the crowd that had started to form around them, Frank emerged and smiled at his daughter.  
"Welcome home, Collet." he greeted her, his arms spread widely apart.  
Tears spilled from her eyes at the sight her most familar.  
".. I'm home, Father!" she called out, rushing into her father's arms and feeling the all too comfortable warmth from his chest.  
She finally found her way back to her home.

* * *

**Cat:** For some reason, I really like the Collet in this chapter.  
**Collet:** Oh, I'm happy to hear that!  
**Cat: **Don't ruin it. _-cough-_ How long have I not updated this story? Almost two years! Amazing to think what happened  
between then and now. Things sure have changed.  
**Collet: **By the way, why do you make me sound like a depressed suicide-endangered girl?  
**Cat: **That's basically how you appear in the story. To me, you know. And for some reason this really has a huge Colloyd Plot  
in it. Anyway, you're done.  
**Collet:** Horray! _-gets up to leave, trips horribly-_  
**Cat:** .. Clean Up on Aisle 4!  
**Mikey:** _-sweeps Collet away with a huge broom-_  
**Cat:** Who's next? _-spotlight swirls fast-_


End file.
